Redemption

Eleven - Wishes

"Anakin. I'm going to go see my parents, okay?"

Anakin stirred from his sleep in bed that morning. "Hmm?"

"I'm going to go see my parents. I'll be back later."

Anakin sat up, his eyebrows furrowed. "Are you sure you want to do that?" he asked groggily.

"I'm sure. The twins are gone at school and -- "

"Wait a second... what time is it?"

"Nine."

"What?!" he exclaimed, getting up. "I have to get up and get ready. It's late." Anakin ran to the refresher and closed the door.

Padme laughed to herself. "Ani, get out of there! There's nothing you have to do, you don't have an agenda anymore!"

Anakin opened the door again and shuffled out, lying in bed and covering his whole body under the bedsheets, head and all. He groaned. "You had me worried there for a second."

"Does this look like your old room on the Death Star?"

"Nope."

"Well, that means you don't have to do anything."

He laid there under the covers for a moment, letting her words sink in. Then he uncovered himself, meeting eyes with Padme. "Alright, you go see your parents. I'll stay here and... do nothing, I guess."

Padme smiled and kissed Anakin's forehead, but he brought her back down and kissed her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too, Anakin." Padme smiled and strode towards their bedroom doors, but before she could exit, he called her name. "Yes?" she said, turning back to look at him.

"I was just thinking... well, what if we had another baby? Like, you know... one that I was actually there for? One that we raised together?"

"Hmm... I'll think about it. First, though -- we need to learn how to take care of teenagers."

"Sounds good..."

"Look, Anakin... I know you want a baby girl, and you always have. But that was our decision to do what we did. I promise we can talk about this later. Okay?"

Anakin nodded and forced a small smile. "Have fun convincing your parents you 'came back from the dead.'"

"Thanks." Padme smiled and left, happy, while Anakin sat dwelling on his sadness and growing depression.

* * * *

Padme knocked on her parent's front door lightly later that afternoon, trembling.

It took a moment before Padme heard shifting from inside and the door's lock click out if place. The door opened, revealing a tall, teenage girl with brunette curls, much like Padme's.

Immediately, the girl covered her hands with her mouth and screamed. "Auntie Padme?! No, no, no... that can't be you..." She waved her hand around in front of Padme, making sure her hand didn't pass through her body or something like a ghost. She screamed again, loudly. "It is you!" Padme laughed as Pooja threw her arms around her aunt, almost causing her to collapse.

One after another, Ryoo, Padme's niece, Sola, her sister, and her patterns came out, not believing that Padme was really on their doorstep 14 years after she had "died."

After the hubbub died down, everyone ran inside and invited Padme to sit down. She explained the situation, and after that, she was asked all sorts of questions, typically from the girls.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"When are you going to have a baby?"

"How old are you now?"

"What about your job?"

Padmé laughed nervously, overwhelmed by all of the questions. "Okay, okay. One at a time, girls. Ryoo, you go first."

"Okay. Are you dating anyone?"

Padmé shifted in her seat uncomfortably and laughed nervously again. "Ready for a long story?"